We Audited 100 NZ Websites. Here's What We Found.
Only 12% are mentioned by AI engines. We broke down exactly what the best performers do differently — and what's holding everyone else back.
We spent three months auditing 100 New Zealand small business websites using hurly. The goal was simple: understand where NZ businesses stand on the four pillars that matter for customer discovery in 2026.
What we found was sobering. But it also revealed a massive opportunity.
The Sample
Sample included: trades, hospitality, professional services, e-commerce, health/wellness, retail, and SaaS.
The Four Pillars: Where NZ Sites Stand
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)
How well AI engines can find and cite you
Average GEO score
Only 12% of audited sites are mentioned by at least one AI engine (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The rest are invisible. Most sites are accidentally blocking AI crawlers in robots.txt (68%) or lack proper schema markup (79%).
Traditional SEO
How well Google can find you
Average SEO score
Better news here. Most sites have basic SEO covered (indexation, mobile responsiveness, page speed). But 63% aren't building topical authority — they're writing generic content that doesn't differentiate them. And 71% have weak internal linking strategies.
Conversion Readiness (CRO)
How likely visitors are to buy
Average CRO score
This is where most businesses bleed traffic. 73% have weak value propositions on the homepage. 82% are missing trust signals (testimonials, certifications, social proof). 76% have contact forms that ask for too much information. Traffic means nothing if visitors don't convert.
Content Uniqueness (UCP)
What makes you different
Average UCP score
The lowest pillar. 84% of sites sound like templates. They use the same language as competitors, show no original insights, and provide no differentiation. Case studies and real examples were found on only 31% of sites. You're invisible because you blend in.
Overall average score: 47% — The average NZ small business website is losing customers across all four discovery channels. Not because they're being outranked, but because they're not even visible.
What the Top Performers Do Differently
12% of sites scored above 70 overall. We analysed what separated them from the rest. It wasn't budget. It wasn't SEO agencies. It was discipline in five specific areas.
1.Schema markup is installed and correct
Top performers have LocalBusiness schema with address, phone, and business type. They use Product schema on products. They use Article schema on blog posts. This is the foundation for AI crawlers understanding who you are.
2.AI crawlers are allowed through robots.txt
Every top performer's robots.txt allows ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Simple. Yet 68% of the audited sites block all AI crawlers without realising it. Top performers checked this once and moved on.
3.Content is structured for AI readability
Clear H1 → H2 → H3 hierarchy. Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences). Bulleted lists for features. Tables for comparisons. Top performers structure their content so AI crawlers can instantly parse it. Bottom performers write walls of text.
4.Topical authority is built intentionally
Top performers go deep on their specialty. If they're a plumber, they have comprehensive content about pipe repair, emergency plumbing, local areas, common problems, solutions. One page per topic. AI sees depth and trusts authority.
5.Value proposition is crystal clear on the homepage
"Who are you? What do you do? Why should I care?" answered in three sentences, visible above the fold. Top performers answer this immediately. Bottom performers bury value in subheadings or assume visitors will figure it out.
Breakdown by Industry
Hospitality (restaurants, cafes, bars)
Biggest miss: No menu schema, outdated opening hours, missing location data. AI can't recommend a restaurant it doesn't know the menu for.
Trades (plumbing, electrical, HVAC)
Biggest miss: No service area schema, blocking AI in robots.txt, no case studies or before/after photos. AI can't recommend a service it doesn't understand the scope for.
Professional services (accountants, lawyers, consultants)
Biggest miss: Weak content on specific services. Too generic. Best performers had dedicated pages for each service type with specific examples and outcomes.
E-commerce and retail
Biggest miss: Product schema installed but missing category and structured reviews. Top performers had rich product data with ratings, ingredients, comparisons.
The Opportunity
AI search is growing 600% year-on-year. ChatGPT has 200+ million monthly users. Perplexity grew faster than any consumer app in 2025. These engines are now answering questions that used to go to Google.
88% of NZ small businesses aren't even trying. Most don't even know they're invisible to AI.
If you fix the five things top performers do right, you get disproportionate visibility in an emerging channel before it gets crowded. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be less invisible than your competitors.
Methodology
We audited 100 NZ small business websites using hurly between January and March 2026. Sample was randomised across industries, with a preference for businesses under 50 employees. Each site was scored across four pillars (GEO, SEO, CRO, UCP), with each pillar worth 100 points. Overall score is a simple average.
AI engine mentions were verified by querying ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity with business names and location queries. A site was counted as "mentioned" if it appeared in at least one engine's response. This is a snapshot of current visibility, not historical data.
See how your site stacks up
Run a free hurly audit and we'll score your website across all four pillars. Find out if AI engines are mentioning you or if you're part of the 88%.
Check your AI visibility